Keith, Jennifer, and Harry on their way into the studio via their (surprise!) huge SUV limo. (Isn't there enough room for them to have their own rows?)

Tried something different Wednesday night. Wrote this portion before the show even aired just to see if I was correct in my assumption that the real problem with Idol now is that it is too much of a formula approach. Doesn’t matter who the judges are or what they say; doesn’t matter the talent or how dreadful.

The version will start with some panoramic shot of the audition city showing mostly normal, but some odd participants.

The Ryan Seacrest will set things up, we will see the three judges arriving at the site via limo and then contestant after contestant will perform. An occasional ringer will show up and an occasional back-story will be presented as we await the actual person to come out of the throng sitting in a rather large ballroom.

The judges will pass out Golden tickets aplenty mostly cause they need to fill up the plane headed to Hollywood and we will weave our way to another commercial break. This night will be two nail-biting (just seeing if you were paying attention) hours and we will ultimately get to the final contestant. Cue the back-story, get ready to sob into a hankie and then hear said contestant sing and good or bad they will receive that treasured golden ticket.

We will return after the show to see how we did…trust me on this one…

…

Not bad guesses really. I didn’t know they were bringing in “small-town” handpicked contestants which kind of made the evening slightly different. And, oh, I forgot to mention how lenient the judges are with the Golden Tickets to Hollywood. Two contestants come to mind – Kenzie Hall and Carmen Delgina. Neither deserved a trip west, but again, the plane must be full. Final stats on the show from Salt Lake City who passed the first test: 9 from Utah, 30 altogether and now the grand total is at 193 with the final stop, Omaha, Neb., Thursday night.